California has a poverty rate of 23.5 percent, the highest of any state in the country, according to figures released this week by the United States Census Bureau.

The only other geographic region with an equivalent poverty rate is the District of Columbia, with 23.2 percent. The second most poverty-stricken state was Florida, at 19.5 percent.

The recognition of California’s shockingly high poverty rate comes as a part of a shift in the way the Census Bureau measures its data. When the government began examining poverty back in the early 1960s, the line for determining who fell underneath the threshold was determined solely by looking at food costs.

In the decades since, there’s been increasing criticism this benchmark, as it doesn’t take into account tax rates and assistance programs such as food stamps, child care expenses and medical costs. In examining its most recent data, the Census Bureau considered these previously ignored factors, deemed the “supplemental poverty measure.”

These new metrics have yielded quite different results than in past years. Under the traditional definition of poverty, for example, California’s rate is 16.3 percent.

Welfare Spending Up 41% Under Obama I thought the era of “Big Government” was over. Bill Clinton said so. But apparently, throwing gobs of money at social problems is very popular among Democrats and the Obama White House. CNS: Despite an unprecedented increase in federal anti-poverty spending, the national poverty rate has not declined, the study finds. “[S]ince President Obama took office [in January 2009], federal...

Some 15% of U.S. Uses Food Stamps Nearly 15% of the U.S. population relied on food stamps in August, as the number of recipients hit 45.8 million. Food stamp rolls have risen 8.1% in the past year, the Department of Agriculture reported, though the pace of growth has slowed from the depths of the recession. The number of recipients in the food stamp program, formally known as...

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reggiec

As a native born Californian and resident for 69 years I have seen my once wonderful state slide down the slippery slope of liberalism into chaos. We now have the highest poverty rate and are near the top in unemployment too. The reasons are fairly simple:
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The ideological bubble some on the left insist on surrounding themselves with, destroys their ability to deal with reality. Time after time their answer to out of control government spending has been to just tax the rich to a greater degree and all others who are successful to a lesser degree. What they fail to realize is that if success is punished the successful will find somewhere else to do business. You need to look no further than California to demonstrate the result of punishing success. Some reports indicate that close to 2,600 businesses have left the state, taking over 100,000 median income jobs with them since 2007.
California is rated as close to the worst state for economic freedom and business tax climate. Recently this has accelerated the flight from California. In 2009 about one business per week decided to abandon California. In 2010 the exodus increased to close to four a week and in 2011 between five and six per week pulled up stakes and took their jobs with them. In the mean time those looking for a welfare handout and illegal aliens moved in.
California’s economic woes can be placed directly at the feet of liberals that created the business atmosphere that now exists in that state.
The following all are contributing factors causing an exodus by business from California: burdensome environmental and labor regulations, tax policies, litigation costs and confusing and unnecessarily complex statutes. Compliance with all of these requirements can cost many businesses over $100,000 yearly.
The progressives/socialists who control California just can’t seem to realize that their policies are destroying the private sector that is in reality the very lifeblood of the state.
To make matters even worse, the idiots in California just voted themselves a tax hike.

frawgeyz

The progressive/socilaists absolutely do realize that they are destroying the private sector. Destroying the private sector is part of their marxist agenda.

Lizelot

I, too, am a Californian and can attest to the reality described by reggiec–you said it.

Just read two lengthy pieces in our local paper bemoaning the lack of charity giving this year. Our food banks, they say, are depleted; one is throwing in the towel because it has received no turkeys, zero, not even one. People are standing in line, they add, because they are hungry and depend on that weekly handout of a bagful of basics. In our state where Progressives, who are so protective of our poor, have been in charge and where they now have achieved supermajority?

Who are these poor? Mostly illegals perhaps? Why has charity giving dropped so much. Perhaps because Americans are leaving in droves, and our state is filling up with foreigners whose culture does not include charity giving?

And who welcomes these illegals and foreigners and are in charge?

DonMann

I totally agree with you. I’ve lived in So. Cal. for 50 years and have seen this beautiful state plunge from being the best, to resembling a 3rd world barrio in many places. If the politicians that are pushing amnesty for the illegals aliens and more free stuff to pander for votes, had better wise up and look at the bigger picture.. A 3rd world take over and destruction of not only California, but the nation..